PRODUCTS OF THE PRINCIPAL FISHERIES IN DETAIL. 



77 



The following statement giving the value of the whale 

 products for specified years shows that there has been 

 a gradual decline: 



1908 $497,000 



1904-5 873,000 



1898-99 722,000 



1889 1,404,000 



1888 1,065,000 



1880 2,324,000 



For the Pacific coast states the period from 1890 

 1892 was the high-water mark of the whale fisheries. 

 The statistics for the Pacific whaling fleet for certain 

 years from 1880 to 1908 are given in the following 

 tabular statement: 



1 Not reported. a Not reported separately. 



The comparative statistics of the catch of 

 Atlantic fleet are as follows: 



the 



' Not reported. 



2 Not reported separately. 



The average value per gallon of the product of whale 

 oil in 1908, on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, was 

 the highest reported at any time. Sperm oil con- 

 tributed the greater portion of the value, reported for 

 whale oil, and in 1908 was valued at 50 per cent more 

 a gallon than other kinds of whale oil. It is derived 

 exclusively from the sperm whale and is used chiefly 

 as a lubricator. In previous reports sperm oil was not 

 segregated from other kinds of whale oil. 



Whalebone, or baleen, is chiefly used by whip mak- 

 ers, dressmakers, and corset manufacturers. It varies 

 in color and fineness and is received from the vessels 

 in lengths varying from 1 to 15 feet. 



Ambergris, another product of the whale, while very 

 valuable in the preparation of fine perfumery, is a very 

 uncertain product. It is sometimes found floating 

 out at sea and sometimes along the shore. None was 



reported in 1908. In 1905, 94 pounds, valued at 

 $17,000, were reported from Massachusetts, and in 

 1889, 37 pounds, valued at $7,750. In 1878 a vessel 

 of New Bedford reported 136 pounds that sold for 

 $23,000, and in 1858 another New Bedford vessel 

 secured 600 pounds of ambergris, valued at $10,500. 

 The total quantity reported by the American whaling 

 fleet from 1836 to 1880 was 1,668 pounds. 



Whitefish (Coregonus). ^Whitefishes are among the 

 most important fresh-water fishes of America. The 

 common whitefish (C. clupeaformis) is the most valuable 

 species of all, although the others are highly esteemed 

 as food. It is found in the Great Lakes region and is 

 known as "humpback," "bowback, " and "highback" 

 whitefish; it is known also as "Otsego bass" in the 

 neighborhood of Otsego Lake, N. Y. Other species of 

 economic importance are the Rocky Mountain white- 

 fish (G. williamsoni) and the Menominee whitefish (C. 

 quadrilateralis) , also known locally as "round white- 

 fish," "frostfish," "shadwaiter," "pilot fish, ""chivey," 

 "blackback," etc. Coregonus albus is the common 

 whitefish of Lake Erie. 



There are included under this name the bluefin 

 (Leucichthys nigripinnis) and the longjaw (L. prog- 

 naihus), commercially classed with the whitefishes, 

 although they belong to the same genus as the lake 

 herring. 



The name is locally applied to the bluefish on the 

 Hudson ; to the menhaden in western Connecticut ; to 

 the tilefish in California ; and to the beluga by whalers. 



The whitefish catch is confined to the Great Lakes, 

 Lake of the Woods, and Rainy Lake. In value it 

 ranked fourth among the fishery products in those 

 waters with a catch in 1908 valued at $524,000, which 

 is less than 1 per cent of the total value of the United 

 States fishery product, but 14 per cent of the value of 

 the product of the Great Lakes. Every state border- 

 ing on the Great Lakes shared in the catch of white- 

 fish, but nearly two-thirds of the total value was con- 

 tributed by the fish reported from Michigan. In that 

 state whitefish ranked second in value, representing 

 23 per cent of the total value. . 



The distribution of the catch, by states ranked 

 according to the value of their product, is given in the 

 following tabular statement: 



1 Less than 1 per cent. 



